- With Mayo Clinic emeritus consultant
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Jay Hoecker, M.D.
Dr. Jay Hoecker, an emeritus member of the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, brings valuable expertise to health information content on primary care pediatrics. He has a particular interest in infectious diseases of children.
He's a Fort Worth, Texas, native, certified as a pediatrician by the American Board of Pediatrics and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was trained at Washington University's St. Louis Children's Hospital, and in infectious diseases at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He has been with Mayo Clinic since 1989.
"The World Wide Web is revolutionizing the availability and distribution of information, including health information about children and families," Dr. Hoecker says. "The evolution of the Web has included greater safety, privacy and accuracy over time, making the quality and access to children's health information immediate, practical and useful. I am happy to be a part of this service to patients from a trusted name in medicine, to use and foster all the good the Web has to offer children and their families."
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Infant health (20)
- Baby sling: Is it safe?
- Breast-feeding and alcohol: Is it OK to drink?
- Baby fat: When is it cause for concern?
- see all in Infant health
Toddler health (4)
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- see all in Toddler health
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Question
Baby fat: When is it cause for concern?
How can I know if my baby is too heavy?
Answer
from Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
If you're concerned about your baby's weight or body composition — too much "baby fat" — be sure to consult your baby's doctor regularly. Growth, development and weight are great topics to discuss during routine well-child visits.
Since infants tend to carry different amounts of weight at different stages of development, making judgments about baby fat on the basis of appearance alone isn't reliable or effective. Instead, your baby's doctor will plot your baby's growth on charts that show measurements for height, weight, head circumference and body mass index (BMI). You can use the charts to compare your baby's growth with that of other infants of the same sex and age. What really matters, however, is the trend revealed on growth charts — not any particular percentile. Your baby's doctor will look mainly for predictable changes in weight over time.
Keep in mind that babies need a diet high in fat to support growth during infancy. In addition, a diet high in fat helps to build a myelin sheath around nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. This sheath offers "insulation" for the central nervous system, ensuring that nerve impulses are sent efficiently.
In some cases, however, too much baby fat becomes problematic. For example, excess baby fat can delay crawling and walking — essential parts of a baby's physical and mental development.
To help prevent excess baby fat:
- Monitor your weight gain during pregnancy. Research shows that excessive weight gain during pregnancy increases a baby's birth weight.
- Breast-feed your baby for as long as possible.
- Remember that juice isn't a necessary part of a baby's diet. Don't offer juice from birth to age 6 months, unless it's needed to treat constipation. If you choose to offer juice after age 6 months, serve it in a cup rather than a bottle and limit it to 4 ounces (118 milliliters) a day.
- Don't try to quiet all of your baby's cries with breast milk or formula.
As your child gets older, continue talking to his or her doctor about weight and nutrition. For additional guidance, you might consult a registered dietitian as well.
Next questionOrganic baby food: Is it worth the price?
- Hoecker JL (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 23, 2010.
- Li R, et al. Do infants fed from bottles lack self-regulation of milk intake compared with directly breastfed infants? Pediatrics. 2010;125:e1386.
- Shibli R, et al. Morbidity of overweight (>85th percentile) in the first 2 years of life. Pediatrics. 2008;122:267.
- Slining M, et al. Infant overweight is associated with delayed motor development. Journal of Pediatrics. In press. Accessed June 23, 2010.
- Tzoulaki I, et al. Relation of immediate postnatal growth with obesity and related metabolic risk factors in adulthood: The northern Finland birth cohort 1966 study. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2010;171:989.
- American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition. The use and misuse of fruit juice in pediatrics. Pediatrics. 2001;107:1210.
- Ludwig DS, et al. The association between pregnancy weight gain and birthweight: A within-family comparison. The Lancet. In press. Accessed Aug. 10, 2010.
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